The Car Connection Expert Review

Vanning was a big lifestyle thing in the Sixties and
Seventies. The very idea of having a van embodied the free spiritedness of the
generation—the ability to park anywhere and have a place to sleep along with
your significant other, your most valued earthly possessions, and that groovy
orange shag carpet on the floor.

But
what happened? Fuel economy and inflation killed the craze, people moved to
smaller cars, and driving a big, clumsy truck-based full-size van went from far
out to just plain uncool.

Beginning
with the original Microbus, VW was a segment pioneer, offering an economical
alternative to gas-guzzling full-size vans with nearly as much interior space,
unique packaging, and even more flexibility. The simple VW camper van lives on
as a variation of the modern front-engined, liquid-cooled EuroVan lineup, and
after a price reduction last year it’s now surprisingly affordable, versatile,
powerful, and economical.

Review continues below

The
EuroVan MV Weekender we tested proved a most amiable partner for a weekend
camping trip—and sort of stylish, too, in its own boxy offbeat
way.

Better VR6 gives EuroVan
spirit

When
the EuroVan was introduced in the U.S. for 1993, it was criticized as severely
underpowered. Its coarse 109-hp five-cylinder engine could barely propel the
4000-pound-plus EuroVan safely (especially the even heavier camper versions),
and passing was simply out of the question.

After
the ’93 model year, VW stopped importing the EuroVan, and it was absent from the
U.S. market until the ’99 model year, when VW brought it back with a version of
the 2.8-liter VR6, tuned for extra torque at low rpm but offering only 140 hp.
The VR6 was worlds ahead of the old engine and offered good grunt at stoplights
and for towing, but it still lacked the high-rev horsepower for passing.